Thirteen penalties finally unlucky for Cowboys

BALTIMORE – For the third time this season the Cowboys had 13 penalties, but Sunday marked the first time they lost with so many flags flying against them.

They beat the New York Giants and Tampa Bay, but they could not overcome Baltimore.

What played the biggest role in the Cowboys' two-point loss at Baltimore?

23%

Penalties

4%

Romo's first-half interception

19%

Special teams

14%

Bryant's dropped 2-point conversion

40%

Clock management

(Total votes: 14,035)

Ten of the penalties came on the Jason Garrett-led offense. Six happened before the snap. Three came inside Baltimore’s 20.

“When we do the details right, we can be a pretty good offensive unit,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “So far, in the games that we’ve lost, we’ve not done the details well.”

Three illegal shift penalties are almost unheard of, but the Cowboys seemed to have an issue lining up as the play clock was running down. Too often they were late to the line of scrimmage.

“Yeah, it killed us, man,” tight end Jason Witten said of the penalties. “We’ve got to eliminate it. That’s what we’ve been saying all along, but you’ve got to find ways to do it. We work on it in practice, do all those things. But you just keep putting yourself out there. It’s just too hard to overcome. The odds say you’re not going to have a chance to win those types of games.”

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